Fantasy football advice, Week 14: Who to start/sit for Minnesota Vikings vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

The playoffs continue on Monday night for many fantasy leagues, and those owners don’t have any more room for error. Fantasy owners will have options to choose from in a matchup between two teams who are trying to get their offenses back on track, albeit limited ones. Let’s take a look:

“Trust” would be a tough word to use when it comes to the Vikings’ offense, especially when it squares off against the Jaguars, a team that fields the NFL’s No. 2 pass defense. Even in a tough spot, it would be bold for fantasy owners to bench a healthy Stefon Diggs as well as a productive Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph has offered productivity at a position that hasn’t had much of it throughout the fantasy landscape. As for Diggs, who now has five straight games with six catches or more, he has the talent and garners the usage to stay in the WR2 spotlight.

The bad matchup at hand makes it difficult to believe that fantasy production will trickle down to the rest of the Vikings’ pass catchers. Adam Thielen, Charles Johnson and Laquon Treadwell can remain on the bench with quarterback Sam Bradford. And even though the backfield tandem of Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon have a porous run defense lined up across from them, the Vikings haven’t shown any competence toting the rock all season long. They can remain out of fantasy lineups.

None.

If fantasy owners insist, Allen Robinson does still offer upside, but not to the point where it should be expected to be reached. The Vikings have struggled since a hot 5-0 start, but their pass defense isn’t the source of their concerns. With an exasperated Blake Bortles under center, Robinson can’t be viewed as anything but a boom-or-bust flex option, with emphasis on the bust. Allen Hurns and Julius Thomas out of the lineup may garner extra targets for Robinson, but would also have him drawing more attention as a result.

Bortles, Marqise Lee, and a backfield that should be led by T.J. Yeldon can all remain out of fantasy lineups against the Vikings’ stout defense. This is a week where fantasy owners with stock in the Jaguars’ offense need to look elsewhere.